Relic Tic
by the penwriter
Summary: Only seven people from different places and culture are qualified from all of Rune-Midgard to embark on this simple yet mysterious mission, and they make friends in the process in the weirdest ways. A story written by the penwriter and yoshikazu. Pls R&R!


Chapter One -

He squinted at the bright noon sun glaring down at him. He gave a big yawn as he stretched out his hands above him, sitting up from his comfortable spot under a shade of a huge sakura tree.

"Perrin!"

He groaned at the too familiar voice. For sure, she was here to scold him again. "Why was he sleeping outside? Why didn't he call her?" Those were the questions Perrin had to get ready for.

The bubbly girl plopped down beside Perrin. "Hey, did you hear?"

"What?" Perrin felt strange that she was not scolding him again.

She smiled slyly before continuing, "It's what you've been training for for your whole life, Mr. New-Knight!" She giggled. "Let's join together, okay?"

Perrin held a hand up, although he couldn't help smiling at the thought that his friend recognized his knighthood. "Wait a minute. I don't even know what you're talking about."

"That's because you're sleeping all day!" She crossed her arms. "You didn't want to come with me this morning when I asked you to!"

Perrin thought of ways to get her to tell, but he was just all smiling. "Come on..."

His friend threw him a glance before continuing, "All right."

Perrin grinned. _Like I convinced her enough._

"The Prontera Crusaders are holding a kind of test to see who qualifies for the next mission."

Perrin's eyes widened, totally forgetting about everything. "You mean, a _mission,_ as in, _the_ once-in-a-lifetime kind of mission? Are you serious, Nhi?"

She nodded slowly. "I was shocked too, when I passed by the Knight Chivalry this morning."

"So when is it?"

She pursed her lips. "Actually, it's tomorrow already. They're really not giving us any time to train. Do you think we can even make it? They say that recently, the number of people with advanced jobs have been coming to Prontera."

Perrin was not listening at all. He was too excited to do so. After all, it was a mission that even his father didn't even catch a glimpse of in his whole life.

These missions from the Prontera Crusaders are not ordinary missions. They usually require great skill, and only a handful from all of Rune-Midgard get to share in this honorable task.

After absorbing his excitement enough, Perrin turned to Nhi. "Hey, let's go together tomorrow, okay?"

Nhi looked down at her lap. "Perrin, I'm not sure." She paused briefly. "I'm only an acolyte. It's going to take me a long time to become a priestess. And tomorrow we'll be surely competing against advanced jobs. How can I stand a chance?"

"Hey, Nhi, remember that I've only become a knight not too long ago. I'm still an amateur too, if that's what you mean." Perrin knew that that wouldn't make Nhi feel any better though. She only started being an acolyte when Perrin was already halfway to becoming a knight.

She fell silent and smiled at Perrin. "I know you can do it. I'm sure there are lots of priestesses there, or even monks, who would be way better to be companions with than me."

"Hey, don't say that." Perrin couldn't say anything. It was a very awkward situation, and very new to him too. Nhi was often bubbly and optimistic even if she would be fighting against a Baphomet.

Nhi laid back on the grass and stared into the sky, with Perrin following course.

"Hey, Nhi," Perrin started, waiting for a sure reply before continuing.

"Yep?"

"Can I ask a very serious question?"

"What?" Nhi had a hint of seriousness and curiosity in her voice too.

"Why are you becoming so dramatic all of a sudden?"

"What!?" Nhi sat up. "Hey, you said a serious question just now, didn't you?"

Perrin sat up too. It seems he's always following whatever Nhi does. "Well...you're suddenly so serious. You always say that Baphomets will soon be a piece of cake for us, right? Then why are you backing out now?"

Nhi looked unsure of what to say. She knew Perrin was right, but she couldn't help feeling hopeless. Once Perrin sees the advanced do their healing, he might think that Nhi's pretty useless compared to them. She didn't want to face that shame. "You see..."

Perrin clenched his fist, smiling encouragingly. "Come on, Nhi. What do you think my sword is here at my side for? Don't you trust me?"

He spoke as if he knew what was going on in Nhi's mind exactly. His words pierced Nhi, because in reality, she didn't trust Perrin. Weren't they together since they were children? Would Perrin ever leave him just to be with a more beneficial companion? If she trusted him, she would believe that he'd never do that.

Having made up her mind, Nhi smiled, brightly this time. "I was just joking!"

Perrin's eyes widened. "Nhi!" He stopped at loss of words.

Nhi grinned. "Of course I'm coming. As you said, this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance! Who would ever pass this chance up?"

Perrin shook his head. "You're definitely weird. I just knew it."

Nhi was already on her feet, tugging at Perrin. "Hey, come on! We have to sign up before the day ends!"

"Sign up?" Perrin stood up and picked up his scabbard. "I think I missed that detail." Tying his scabbard to his side, he looked up at the sky.

"Yes, we have to sign up at the Knight Chivalry. They said no late sign-ups for even one minute, as that is lack of discipline. How can we qualify for the mission if we're not punctual and can't follow simple rules? The end time for sign-ups is when the sun sets--ah!"

Perrin dashed, pulling Nhi by her wrist. "No time for talking! The sun _is_ about to set!"

Nhi tried to keep up with his pace, hardly. She held one hand over her biretta, as one hand was in Perrin's strong grip. She stared at the back of his head, admiring his dark hair. _It really suits his sweet yet mysterious face!_ she thought, almost tripping over a small rock formation.

Advanced jobs refer to alternative second job. In this fan fiction, the alternative second jobs rank higher than the second jobs, but you can only become one of the two, like in the game. That is, you need more training to enter an alternative second job than when you're going to enter a second job, unlike in the game where you need the same amount of training for the two.

----- the penwriter

{ Chapter One ends here! This only dealt with one of our heroes, and succeeding chapters will reveal more about the others! I hope you enjoyed this brief introduction of Perrin. The next chapter will be done by yoshikazu, my co-author. I wonder who she will do next? }


End file.
